The couple then left the field, flanked by friends and family. They declined to speak to the media.

“My heart goes out to Maz (Anthony) and Rin, how do they cope from now on?” Coach Troy Ramshaw said.

Club president Steve Cross said the whole Maslin family routinely attended Mo’s games, and were “very popular” in the club.

“You just don’t know how to feel,” Mr Cross said.

“Being a parent, it really hits home to you. Things in life don’t seem so bad when you see things like this.”

West Australian Premier Colin Barnett told The Australian he was deeply saddened that so much tragedy had been burdened on one family.

“It is just so sad that a grandfather taking his grandchildren on what I assume was a lovely and happy holiday and for them to have lost their lives and particularly young children just makes it that much sadder,” Mr Barnett said.

Ms Norris is an artist who teaches make-up artistry at tertiary institutions.

She and Mr Maslin both attended the Perth Catholic school Newman College and got together a few years after graduation.

Mr Maslin, a stockbroker, later became managing director of the Australian Securities Exchange-listed Solco Ltd, his work taking the family to Hong Kong, where they lived for several years.

The family returned to Perth in 2010 when Mr Maslin was appointed head of Buxton Resources.

Colleagues said yesterday that, despite Mr Maslin’s sharp focus on his work, he thought carefully about how each of his career moves would affect his young family.

Rin Norris (centre green coat, black hat) grieves with friends from their eldest son Mo's football club yesterday.Source:News Corp Australia

“I don’t have any words for what has happened,’’ a former workmate said. “It’s true that everything Maz (Anthony) and Rin lived for is gone.”

Ms Norris’s brother Brack had hoped the news was a misunderstanding. “My sister called me at 5.30 this morning, woke me up and told me,” he said.

“And I basically didn’t believe her. It seemed pretty unbelievable that that could happen, and after I looked at my phone and saw heaps of missed calls from my mum and a few others, it kind of sunk in a little.”